Previews

GTA IV: The Lost and The Damned

We hop on our choppers and take a nice long ride back into Liberty City.

Spiffy:

Motorcycle mechanics have been greatly improved; fun new weapons; some crossover with the original game.

Iffy:

How long will it actually take to beat?; will the story be interesting?

Downloadable content can be a slippery slope for some developers and publishers, as they have to ensure that they're giving consumers the most possible bang for their buck. The way Rockstar Games sees it, Grand Theft Auto IV isn't just a standalone game that can be supported by the occasional DLC release, it's actually a platform on which to create fully realized downloadable games. In fact, when you download the first piece of DLC, titled "The Lost and Damned," you'll access it as a completely separate entity from the main menu, and it will offer as much (or, in some cases, more) content as a full-priced standalone game. Could this be the start of a new era of downloadable content?

"The Lost and Damned" tells the tale of Johnny Klebitz, the vice president of The Lost Motorcycle Club, a seemingly nefarious biker gang that appeared several times throughout Grand Theft Auto IV. Johnny's been running the show while the club's president, Billy, has been in rehab to get out of serving hard time for his crimes. While he was in charge, Johnny (or Johnny the Jew, as Billy is wont to call him) made a truce with The Lost's most hated rivals, The Angels of Death, in an effort to keep his wards alive. Billy isn't happy to hear that upon his release. We don't know much about the DLC's story outside of the obvious conflict between these two headstrong men, but it's apparent that something's got to give in the end.

The first time we meet Johnny and Billy they're hanging out at their clubhouse with the rest of the gang. From what we gathered while speaking with the Rockstar folks, the clubhouse will serve as a hub of sorts, allowing you to save your games and watch TV, just like you could in the apartments in the main game. While we didn't see them, we were told that you'll also be able to access some new mini-games while kicking it around the clubhouse. These include playing card games of some sort and arm wrestling, although it should be noted that you can still go bowling or get drunk if you feel like venturing out into the world. Of course, when members of The Angels of Death appear at the front door to "welcome" Billy back into the world, it's not long before the bullets start to fly.

Tasked with chasing down the fleeing gang members, Johnny hopped on his chopper and took off after them. As anyone who's played a GTA game knows, riding motorcycles can be an exercise in frustration. Thankfully, the developers figured that, since this chunk of DLC revolves around the trials and tribulations of a motorcycle gang, they would be well-served by tweaking the bike mechanics a bit. It now seems to be quite a bit tougher to get thrown from your chopper, although it did happen a couple of times. Still, it's definitely a lot more forgiving than in the full game. We also heard a few of the new songs that will accompany the DLC, many of which are geared toward the sensibilities of a biker gang. Motorhead's "Ace of Spades," anyone?